Basic research in tax law

Taxation has always been a significant means of financing the public sector and has great importance in the development of European integration. It also has a conspicuous effect on the individual’s everyday life and the economic affairs of society in general. Taxation also has a marked effect on work, savings, investment as well as the economic behavior of individuals and enterprises. In the traditional organization of the legal system tax law is a part of fiscal law, which includes regulations governing the acquisition of resources by public power (tax law), plans concerning their utilization, decision-making, use and inspection (the law of fiscal administration). Tax law also has close connections to other legal areas such as administrative law and civil law, in particular, commercial law. The purpose of this article is initially to outline various approaches to research concerning tax law; I will then examine novel questions in tax law research and finally focus on basic research in tax law and the great contribution of other social science research from the perspective of tax law. The problematics is primarily viewed from the perspective of the Finnish experience, but there are probably general features which are common to other countries.